Banco Santander will pay an interim cash dividend against 2026 earnings of 12.7 euro cents per share, representing a 10% increase compared to the interim dividend paid last year. The dividend will be paid on November 2, 2026. This meets, and even exceeds, the forecasts made by Executive Chair Ana Botín at the annual general shareholders’ meeting.
Approved this Tuesday by the bank’s board of directors, total shareholder remuneration against first-half 2026 results will amount to approximately EUR 3.7 billion, equivalent to around 50% of the group’s underlying profit for the period.
It will be split virtually equally between a cash dividend of approximately EUR 1.8 billion and the share buyback program of around EUR 1.8 billion launched in August.
Including the ongoing share buyback program, the buybacks against 2025 results, and the distribution linked to the sale of Santander Poland, Santander will have allocated nearly EUR 9 billion to its plan to distribute at least EUR 10 billion through share buybacks against the 2025 and 2026 financial years.
Ana Botín, Executive Chair of Banco Santander, noted: “This increase in the cash dividend marks the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth, with a 162% increase in the interim dividend per share since 2021. This dividend, combined with the share buyback announced against first-half 2026 results, represents shareholder remuneration of EUR 3.7 billion, rising to EUR 6.9 billion if we include the extraordinary buyback linked to the sale of Santander Poland. First-half results demonstrate the benefits of our transformation: we continue to grow strongly in customers, increase revenue, and improve efficiency.”
Santander generated a record underlying profit of EUR 7,328 million in the first half of 2026, up 15%. Revenue rose 6% to EUR 30,847 million, while the efficiency ratio improved by 2.9 percentage points to 42.8%.
